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Spice island likes to say 'no worries'

Zanzibar lies six degrees south of the Equator (Image: getty)

JUST above the sound of breaking waves, I can hear the words "hakuna matata" floating over the waters of the Indian Ocean. As I paddle on my stand-up board towards the reef I can understand why the Swahili words which mean "no worries" are so apt.

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From the Bazara Resort, guests can visit the local village (Image: Baraza Resort & Spa Zanzibar )

The government can only fund teachers' salaries, so the children's learning environment needs a lot of additional help.

With fellow hotel guests and equipped with a suitcase full of pens, pencils, shoes and clothes, we make the 10-minute journey along the fields and through the bush to the local school.

Suddenly, in true dramatic African style, the heavens open and the roads become uneven, full of potholes, sinkholes and mud. To know many of the children don't even have shoes to walk along these roads, is humbling.

Upon entering the classroom - no more than a crude corrugated iron roof and crumbling walls - it takes all of 30 seconds for the four-year-olds to warm to us, singing, dancing, laughing, playing, even attempting to speak English.

The ceilings are low, the air heavy and even the chains the women and children were tethered to remain.

Zanzibar is full of history and fascinating stories. Later that night, sat on the terrace at the Baraza Resort, a local storyteller regails us with mesmerising tales. I could have listened all night long.